A Flower's Last Petal
by XxBlackChaosxX
Summary: Seven-year-old Yamanaka Ino can't understnand why the villagers of Konoha shun little Uzumaki Naruto. She decides to become his friends. What happens then? Read to find out. Eventual NaruIno, some SasuSaku NaruSaku and InoSasu
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

A light breeze rustled the crisp autumn leaves as a young, blonde-haired girl picked a boquet or flowers. Behind her, her friends played some sort of game. But she wasn't interested; he top priority was gathering flowers. They had such beautiful blossoms this time of year, and she wanted to make sure they would be loved to their full extent.

Seven-year-old Yamanaka Ino finished her bouquet with a beautiful rose that was in full bloom. It was in the center of lilacs and baby's breath, a beautiful combination for the both eyes and nose. As usual, her artistic ability was unparalleled by anyone. She smiled in success as she tied the bouquet with an ocean-blue ribbion.

This particular work of art had been intended for one person in particular. She didn't know his name, but she knew she wanted to make him happy. The other villagers - even people as old as her father - ridiculed the boy, referring to him as a "demon fox." She couldn't fathom why people hated him so much, why they shunned him from soceity. Her curiosity finally began to bubble out of her, and so she had asked her father, "Daddy, why does everybody hate that boy? No one else even knows his name."

"He's an evil demon who attacked the village," her father had said bitterly. Tons of the villagers had crowded around the boy and ridiculed him curelly as he whimpered and cried.

"But Daddy, he's just a boy! My age. And he's cute!" She blushed slightly. The blonde male _was _cute.

"That _monster _killed your mother," her father hissed in reply. "I forbid you from talking to hi - No. I forbid you from making _any _sort of contact with that demon. Do you understand me?" His voice was sharp with anger, which frightened Ino a little.

With tears rolling down her cheeks, she stammered, "Y-yes, Daddy. I...I won't even look at him." In that instance, she hated herself for being so cruel to the child, hated her father for making her say it, and hated everyone in Konoha for hating the boy.

"That's a good girl," her father answered, instantly brightening as he pulled her away.

That had been two weeks ago. Since then, Ino's curiosity had grown stronger and stronger, along with her admiration for the boy. Her friends all hated him, as well, and so she put on a front, pretending instead to like Uchiha Sasuke. But _everyone _like Sasuke; Ino found herself unattracted to him just because of that. The blonde was so much more beautiful; although he cried all the time because of constant bullying, Ino could see that he was a beautiful flower, and one of the rarest and most extravagant. More than anything, Ino wanted to see him smile.

And so that brought her to the current time, finalizing her bouquet for the boy. Smiling, Ino looked over her shoulder at her playmates. They had either forgotten she was there or was ignoring her, but it didn't matter. That would only make it easier to slip away and find "the demon fox."

Cradling her flowers in her left arm, Ino set out to one of the several locations where they boy was always spotted - a sparkling lake with a small dock connected to it. Usually, on her way to the playground, Ino saw the blonde sitting at the very end of the dock, dangling his legs over the edge and staring into the water. She hoped to find him there today.

The lake came into view, and she noticed someone sitting on the dock, throwing stones into the water. The person had blonde hair and was wearing similar clothes to what she remembered the object of her admiration wearing. _Oh, please let it be him! _Ino thought excitedly as she ran towards the dock.

As soon as her foot hit the wood of the dock, she stopped. It was the boy! It had to be. But if he realized her presence, he didn't show it. Ino's heart picked up speed a little, but she gulped it down and approached him slowly. "Um, hellow there." Ino stopped aout a foot away from the boy and waited.

He dropped a stone into the water, directly on the reflection of his face. The water rippled, and Ino was sad to noticed a tear fall from his cheek. He sniffled weakly and returned her greeting. "H-hi. Are you here to tease me, too?" They boy sniffled louder at that.

"Oh, no, I would never do that." Ino answered sofrly as she sat beside him on the dock. "Actually, I...I wanted to give you these." She held up the flowers softly, towards him.

The boy looked up to her, a look of shock plain on his face. "These are...these are for me?" Kami, he was so adorable!

Ino nodded softly, adding a smile to it. "But on one condition. I wanted to know...What's your name?"

The blonde male smiled as though she had asked him to marry her and answered, "Uzumaki Naruto!"

_Naruto. _What a beautiful name. It definitely suited him. "That's nice," Ino answered with a smile as she handed him the flowers. "My name's Yamanaka Ino."

"That's really pretty!" Naruto said happily as he took the flowers from her. "Just like these flowers, dattebayo. Where did you get them?"

"I put them together myself!" She boasted proudly.

"Really? Cool! I like them even more." He paused for a moment, then blushed feverishly. "So, um...Does this make us friends?" He looked to the water, at their reflections.

"Of course, silly! I gave those to you because I wanted to be your friend. To see you smile."

Naruto's eyes widened as he looked to her. "Really?" Then he broke into a smile. "It feels good to have a friend. Hey, wanna come over my house sometime?"

"Well, today's bad for me, but I could probably come over tomorrow." She answered excitedly. He was so beautiful...Whenever he smiled, his ocean-blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight and his whole face glowed. Why did people always call him ugly? Even when he cried, he was beautiful. No matter how hard she tried, Ino couldn't understand why people hated him so much or thought of him as ugly.

His smile was like the sun. "Awesome! Hey...Ino-chan..."-he blushed and looked down to his flowers--"would you like to play with me?" Naruto looked up to her again and waited paitently, looking into her eyes.

Ino smiled happily. "Sure! Let's go on the swings." Joy almost overtook her, but she fought it down, ketting it out as a small giggle.

"I _love _the swings!" Naruto cheered, jumping to his feet. "C'mon, Ino-chan, I'll push you first." He held out his free hand and helped her to her feet.

Ino let out another small giggle.

* * *

The two blondes played together on the swings for a long while. By the time Ino finally realized how late it was, the sun had already set. Any moment now, her father would come storming after her, demanding that she come home. Digging her heels into the ground, Ino murmured, "Naruto-kun, I have to go home now." Her voice was full of the sadness she felt.

Beside her, Naruto skid to a halt. He looked up to the sky and murmured, "Yeah, I guess it _is_ getting late for normal kids." Before she could ask what he meant, Naruto looked over to her and asked, "Would you like me to walk you home, Ino-chan?" His eyes sparkled, deep ocean-blue even in the falling darkness.

"I don't think that'd be a good idea..." Ino murmured, looking to her feet. "My Daddy...He...doesn't..."

"He thinks of me as a Demon Fox." Naruto said slatly, causing her to look up to him in surprise. Gulity tears welled in her eyes as he looked to the ground and murmured, "Everyone does, dattebayo. I'm used to it by now."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, looking to the ground. "But I don't think that, Naruto-kun!" She looked up to him and continued, "I think you're fun to be with. You're a good friend, and I want to see you again tomorrow."

Naruto looked up to her. "Really? You really wanna see me again?"

Ino nodded firmly as she stood. "I _wanna _go to your house. But until then..." her voice drifted off as she moved in front of the male and held her arms out wide. "Until then, I want a hug goodbye." She blushed a little.

Naruto beamed and, standing as he gripped his bouquet close - he had not relinquished it in all that time - hugged her.

It was wondergul. Ino smiled, happy to have a friend that was actually a friend. All of the girls who called themselves her 'friends' always used and abused her. Even though she had just met him today, Ino knew Naruto wouldn't be the same.

After a moment, Naruto let her go. "Well, bye." She stuttered, waving as she turned and moved off.

"Ino-chan," Naruto called softly.

"Hmm?" Ino replied, looking over her shoulder at him.

"Thanks. For everything." He looked down to the flowers and smiled.

Ino smiled as well, giggling a little. "Yeah. See you tomorrow, Naruto-kun!" The entire way home, she was smiling.

* * *

"Yamanaka Ino," her father chastised as she walked through her front door, "where have you been? You were supposed to be home a half hour ago, young girl!"

"I'm sorry," Ino apologized, looking to the ground as she held her hands behind her back. "I was at Sakura's house, and I didn't realize how late it had gotten. So I ran home as soon as I noticed how late it was. I'm really sorry, Daddy." At the last sentence, she looked up at her father with sad, regretful eyes.

Yamanaka Inoichi was an easy person to manipulate. "Oh, hun, that's alright. As long as you remember that you have to be home when the sun sets, okay?"

Ino nodded once. "Okay. I'll try to be carefuler next time."

Her father smiled. "_More careful, _Ino, not 'carefuler.'" He moved off to the kitchen. "Sakura-chan's house, you said? I like that girl - very tender-hearted. Better than some of your other friends, that's for sure."

"Yeah." Ino answered as she climbed the stairs to her room. She had met Haruno Sakura about two months ago, and decided to be friends with her. Ino didn't really like her, to be honest, but it was a good alibi to use. Safer than using one of her other friends. "Anyway, Daddy, I'm gonna go to bed, okay?"

"Have you eaten yet?" He called from below.

"At Sakura's house!" She shouted back as she reached her room and closed the door.

Once inside her room, Ino changed into her pajamas and crawled into her bed, her thoughts on nothing but Naruto.

* * *

**Translations: **

**Kami - God **

**Dattebayo - 'You know' not 'Believe it.' **

_A/n_

_X3 X3 X3. This pairing is so cute! Ah, young love :) They look so good together, ne? Anyway, obviously, this story will last a while, since it started out when they were young. I plan to have a good plotline, lots of dramatic teen-age angst (XD) and just make it seem realistic, y'know? Read and review, please! Until next time, ciao! _


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The next morning - at eleven-thirty - Ino was dressed and ready to go see Naruto again. She descended the stairs leading to her room and spoke to her father, who was eating breakfast. "Daddy, would it be okay if I go to Sakura's house again?" She asked sweetly.

"So early?" her father asked as he looked to the clock on the wall. "Oh, I guess it isn't as early as I thought!" His face fell, and he asked quickly, "What's today?"

"Friday."

"Shimote! I've got to meet my fell for a mission today at noon!" Her Daddy jumped up out of his chair and answered her question. "Sure, sure. Go to Sakura-chan's house. I should be back by sunset, but if I'm not you're going to have to sleep over." He left the room.

"Arigato!" She shouted back as she opened the door to leave. "I'm leaving now! 'Bye!" Smiling, Ino walked outside, closing the door behind her.

Automatically, Ino headed for the playground. Ninja Academy was open Saturday through Thursday, and so she had Fridays off. Thinking about it, Ino realized that she and Naruto were in the same class along with Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuga Hinata, Akimichi Choji, Inuzuka Kiba, Nara Shikamaru, and Aburame Shino. Naruto was a "problem student" at the Academy, always acting out and getting into trouble. It was funny - Ino never recalled hearing Naruto's name at the Academy. Honestly, she didn't even know he was there until just then. It was probably because she was so focused on her schoolwork, on getting the best grades. She honestly didn't know anything about the people in her class besides their name.

Her friends were already at the playground. Deftly avoiding them, Ino searched for Naruto at the swings. He wasn't there. Not giving up hope, Ino checked at the dock by the lake. Again, he wasn't there. Now she started to panic.

Breaking into a run, Ino checked the places she had frequently seen the blonde male before. In every spot she checked, there were no signs of Naruto. Where was he? Ino began to worry that he was being teased or beaten somewhere. What if he was? The Yamanaka feared she wouldn't be able to help.

That was when she saw it: up on the Hokage's monument, a black dot was putting graffiti upon the previous and current Hokage. Ino stared in wonder at the black dot, guessing who it was.

The angered cry of a chunin - she saw him burst out of a side street and run towards the monument - revealed her guess to be correct. "Aaahh, Naruuuutooooo!"

Ino stared up at the Hokage's monument for a moment, bewildered - _How had he managed to get up there? _- before her thoughts finally clicked into place. "W-wait, Naruto-kun?!" She broke into a run, heading for the mountain.

She was across the village, though, and could not run as fast as a chunin. As she ran, Ino watched as Naruto jumped from the monument and onto a nearby building, then proceeded to make his escape by using wires to slide to other buildings.

_How did he _do _that? _They were learning about Chakra, yes, but not enough to use it properly! How had he even managed to get to the roof of a building? How did he managed to get on top of a _mountain_?

Ino stared a moment more before breaking into another run, chasing after the Uzumaki.

The chunin caught Naruto before Ino did.

They had finally landed on solid ground, allowing Ino to catch up. Running to catch up, Ino shouted at them to wait a moment. The two waited and stared, obviously surprised that someone else was butting in. Finally, she caught up to them. Between gasps, she sputtered, "N-naruto-k-kun...y-you..." she choked and forced herself to continue, "Y-you were just...on top of...t-that mountain..."

"Yes," the chunin answered angrily, "and he was defacing public property!" He turned to Naruto and said strictly, "And so your punishment will be to get back up there and clean it all off."

"Aw, no fair, dattebayo!" Naruto complained, wriggling in the male chunin's grasp.

"I'll help you, Naruto-kun." Ino offered, her breathing more stable now.

"Oh really? Arigato, Ino-chan!" Naruto thanked, still entrapped in the chunin's grasp.

"No," the elder male interceded, "he made the damages himself, and so he will fix them himself. You may stay with him, but no helping."

"Okay." Both blondes answered. With that, the chunin disappeared in a puff of smoke, dropping Naruto on the ground. He go onto his feet wordlessly and looked over to her. "Why would you want to help me with a mess I created on my own?" he asked her.

Ino shrugged. "It's just a thing I do for the people I care about."

Naruto beamed with pride. "Well, since I have to get to work and you don't know how to climb up buildings yet, there's really nothing for you to do. But I can't be friends with a slacker-ninja," the Uzumaki added with a smile, "so I want you to practice climbing up walls while I'm working. You should be able to get to the top of a small place by the time I'm finished."

"B-but how?" Ino murmured, looking to the shortest building around and still finding it too high.

"You're one of those nin who are really good at controlling and manipulating Chakra, right?"

"Yeah, but - "

"Perfect," Naruto cut her off. "Then, once you figure out how to do it, it should be pretty easy." He paused for a moment, then, "Well, I guess I have to go clean up the stupid mountain. See ya." He ran over to a nearby building and somehow managed to climb up the side. From there, he made his way to the Hokage's monument through wires connecting the buildings of Konoha.

For a moment, Ino watched him in awe. Then she remembered her task and approached a small building, determination boiling through her veins. _If Naruto-kun can do this, _she thought, _then so can I! _Taking a deep breath, Ino focused on collecting as much Chakra to her feet as possible before running towards the building at full-speed. Her foot hit the side of the building, and...

..._she was climbing up it! _Ino's heart raced with pride and joy, although her conscious thought didn't waver from the task at hand. She continued to focus Chakra to her feet, determined to make it to the top.

Before she really knew what was going on, Ino found herself at the top of the building. An immeasurable amount of excitement swarmed through her, and Ino smiled as she shouted out her success.

"Good job!" Naruto called, his voice faint with distance. "Now let's see you get over here!" Ino looked over to the mountain as Naruto returned his attention to it, continuing with his cleaning.

Ino felt another swell of pride when she realized Naruto had been watching her succeed, if only for a little while. Smiling, she studied her new surroundings, trying to piece together how Naruto had successfully made his way to the Hokage's mountain from where she was standing.

That was when she saw it; a thick electrical wire connecting her building with one closer to Naruto. Ino studied it warily, unsure. How was Naruto able to balance on the wire and slide across it at the same time? _When did he learn all of this, anyway? _She thought. _I'm sure his parents wouldn't let him do this. _

Ino shook the thoughts from her mind, returning her attention to the wire. She wanted to ask for Naruto's advice, but that would be admitting defeat, wouldn't it? No, this time, Ino would learn on her own, without anyone's help. Taking a deep breath, Ino jumped onto the wire - using Chakra-enhanced soles to help steady her - and instinctively turned sideways, so that the wire was in the very center of her feet.

She was on the connected building in an instant, just as her emotions were catching up to her. Without bothering to hide it, Ino yelled her victory, enjoying the left-behind feelings of excitement and adrenaline. It was _fun. _She wanted to do it again.

Without waiting for a comment from her male friend, Ino ran up the side of a taller building, which landed her right alongside the Hokage's monument. The Yamanaka smiled in fierce pride, unable to withhold it as Naruto jumped down from his perch on the mountain. "Good job, Ino-chan," he congratulated. "It took me _months _just to figure out how to get up the side of a building, dattebayo."

She giggled in pleasure. "I feel like a ninja, now."

Naruto nodded and looked back to his mess with a heavy sigh. "I won't be done here for a while, dattebayo." He turned to face her again, fell silent for a moment, and murmured, "Here." as he dug in his pockets for something. Her friend extended his closed fist, and she extended an open palm, curious. Without a word, Naruto gently placed the object into her fist, curling her fingers around it.

Ino reclaimed he fist, holding it close to her chest as she opened it carefully. In her hand, a small, silver key glimmered in the sunlight. "A...key?" She asked, mildly confused, as she returned her gaze to him.

"I'm going to be cleaning for a while," he repeated, "So, until I'm finished, you can hang out at my house, if you want. My house is over there." He pointed to a large, green, oval-shaped building not too far away. Ino studied it for a moment before he continued, "Since you're so good at building-hopping, why don't you try and make it to my place without touching the ground?" He turned away, and Ino studied her surroundings, carefully noting how the buildings connected to one another.

Then a thought hit her. "Wait," she began as she turned to face Naruto again. He looked over his shoulder at her and waited patiently. "Won't your parents get mad if they find out you gave this key to me?"

At this, Naruto's eyes seemed to bear a painful weight. His entire facial structure was weighed down with the sad emotion; he looked to the ground, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and kicked at something that wasn't there. "No, my parents won't mind." There was a long pause before he finished, "Anyway, I have to go back to work, dattebayo. See you later." He turned away from her completely, turning his attention back to his work.

Ino wanted to reply, but decided against it. Instead, she jumped onto a new wire and made her way to his house.

* * *

After the way Naruto had reacted to the mention of parents, Ino wanted to make it up to him. She felt as though it had been her fault, and so decided it her duty to make him feel better. The Yamanaka made her way to Naruto's house via the connected buildings. It was so much _faster _than walking Konoha's crowded streets.

She got there faster than if she had ran. There was only one door marked 'Uzumaki, Naruto,' and so Ino presumed that to be his apartment. Slipping the key into the lock, Ino opened the door to Naruto's apartment and stepped inside.

Instantly, she noticed the flowers she had given him on the table, still beautiful and not hindered by any trash. It seemed Naruto had destroyed the rest of his house but kept her flowers safe. The thought made her smile.

The place was a mess. Garbage was strewn over the floor and overfilling the trashcan; dirty pots and pans piled high in the sink _and _on the stove; and the place had an overbearing smell of something rotting. Covering her mouth weakly, Ino ran over to a window and threw it open. She coughed out the disgusting smell that filled her lungs and weakly turned to face the apartment again.

She decided to start with the dishes.

* * *

For the remainder of the day, Ino scrubbed, cleaned, organized, and did every other cleaning verb she could name. Finally, as the clock's hour-hand fell on three, she slumped onto the floor, against a wall. In one gloved hand was a sponge, in the other a cleaning agent she herself had to buy. Naruto hadn't owned any cleaning supplies.

The apartment smelled artificial now, because of all the chemicals she had used. Although she had left the window open, the chemicals' scent lingered, as chemical scents will. It was quickly becoming cold, but Ino didn't feel it as her head slumped to one side, eyelids drooping.

"Some more nice flowers will brighten the place," she thought aloud. All day, she had cleaned in silence; Naruto didn't own a television or a radio. Ino had dealt with the silence by talking to herself. "Maybe daises..."

Images of daises floated through her thoughts, and soon she was asleep.

* * *

When she awoke, it was to the comfortable sensation of warmness enveloping her. A soft mattress was underneath her body, a pillow cushioning her head. The cleaning materials that had been in her hands were gone, replaced by a cozy blanket. Ino found herself smiling in content when an alluring scent made its way to her nose.

The scent of Ramen, of food awaiting her.

Even though more than half of her was averse to the idea of getting out of bed, Ino did anyway. Her hunger overcame her need to be warm.

Naruto's apartment had an odd setup to it; as soon as Ino climbed out of the bed, she was able to sit in a chair that corresponded to the kitchen table. It was like one big room, all connected together, except for the bathroom, which was a room of its own.

That was when Ino realized, with a horrific intensity, that she had neglected to clean the bathroom. With a gasp, she began, "I completely forgot about the - "

"Ino-chan!" Naruto interrupted her as he placed a steaming bowl of Ramen in front of her, "_Relax. _You've done enough cleaning already, dattebayo." He handed her a pair of chopsticks, then sat directly across from her, with his own bowl. "You've been asleep for a while," he noted as he took a group of noodles and slipped them into his mouth. "I didn't realize how messy this place was until you cleaned it!" The Uzumaki joked. "Seriously, though, thank you for being so kind."

Ino nodded as she quietly slurped up some Ramen. "It's no problem, Naruto-kun. I wanted to make you happy, since you seemed sad when I left."

"I did?" he asked with a smile. "I don't remember. I was working really hard on cleaning up the mess I made!"

He was lying.

The Yamanaka carefully stored this information for later, changing the subject. "What time is it?"

"Eight-thirty," Naruto murmured, his mouth full of Ramen. "I got here a half hour ago."

Ino gasped lightly in surprise. "When I stopped cleaning, it was three!"

"Wow," he friend laughed. "You've done a lot of work for me, Ino-chan! I'd pay you, but all I have is Ramen." He smiled as he toyed with his food. "Someday, when I become a great ninja, I'll have plenty of money to pay you, Ino-chan."

"What type of ninja will you be?" She asked, already finished with her meal.

"Huh? I dunno, just a great one."

"Don't you know all the ninja ranks?" Ino scolded. "We went over them in Academy last week!"

Naruto smiled sheepishly. "Wanna remind me, Ino-chan?"

Ino groaned heavily before beginning, "There are three basic ninja ranks: Genin, Chunin, and Jonin. When we graduate from the Academy in five years, we'll be genin. After that, we take exams to become chunin. Chunin go on to become jonin."

Naruto nodded. "Ah, ah, ah! I wanna be the greatest ninja anyone has ever seen! I wanna be able to show the villagers of Konoha how great I am and protect them all! I wanna...I wanna become _Hokage!_" He jumped to his feet with the declaration, pumping his fist into the air.

"Hokage?" Ino repeated as she washed her bowl and chopsticks.

"Un, un!" The male shouted happily as she washed his own bowl.

"Well, that's a wonderful goal to have. It'll be hard, and I bet there'll be times where you feel you're close to dying. But, Naruto-kun..." she took his hand gently with an encouraging smile, "...I'll be there for you every step of the way."

Naruto smiled, too. "Thanks, Ino-chan." he responded. They hugged.

Upon backing off, Ino realized how late it was. "My Daddy won't be home until tomorrow, but I told him I'd sleep over at Sakura's house..." her voice drifted off in thought.

"S-Sakura-chan?" Naruto repeated, his face pink. He turned away a little.

Ino studied him for a moment and smiled. "You like Sakura, don't you?" she teased.

Naruto's blush deepened. Kami, it was so cute. "Y-yeah," he confessed softly. "but she has no interest in me at all. If anything, she hates me."

"Well, since I'm her only friend, I can talk to her for you, if you like."

Naruto faced her completely once more and panicked. "Y-you don't have to, Ino-chan. A-and if you do...Don't use my name." He looked to the ground between them dismally.

"Alright, I won't." She agreed as she took a seat at the table again. "But you have to answer my questions."

The male nodded and sat across from her.

"First, what type of girls do you like?"

He smiled in thought. "I like...girls with long hair. And smart, too. And strong, someone who can take care of herself, y'know? I like girls who can stand up for themselves and have determination."

Ino frowned as she compared Naruto's descriptions to Sakura's characteristics. _There's no way Sakura fits what he's looking for, _Ino thought. _She's definitely not independent - everything she does has to involve me. She has the second highest female grade in class, directly below me. And there's absolutely _no _way she's determined for anything or can stand up for herself. What does Naruto-kun see in her? _"Well, I'll see what I can do. Right now, she doesn't like anyone. Perhaps you two should meet up sometime." She finished with a smile.

Naruto's blush returned, even brighter this time. _He's so cute when he blushes, _Ino found herself thinking. "I-I don't think right now is a good time," he stammered.

"Why?"

"W-well, uh, you see...it's because, uh..." his voice drifted off.

"It's because you're _scared_," Ino teased. "But it doesn't matter. For now, I'll keep Sakura's hidden admirer anonymous."

Naruto smiled his thanks, and Ino couldn't help but giggle. "It's getting late," he murmured. "Perhaps you should call Sakura-chan and ask to stay over."

Ino nodded. "Where's your phone?"

"There's a pay phone outside," the Uzumaki said softly as he looked to the table. Ino groaned - she was out of money - and he hurriedly finished, "B-but I have change, dattebayo!" He dug into his pocket and found a single ryo.

She took it from him and he walked her to the phone.

* * *

**Translations: **

**Shimote - Shit**

**Arigato - Thanks **

**Dattebayo - 'You know' not 'Believe it.' **

**Un - Yeah **

**Kami - God **

**Ryo - Original Japanese currency that was used when the series first came out. Now obsolete. However, to keep down confusion, Kishimoto-kun decided to keep the ryo in the series, instead of changing in to yen. **

_A/n_

_X3 It just gets cuter and cuter as time goes by!!!  
_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

At Sakura's house, Ino played with her friend for a long while, until the clock struck eleven. She had showed up at nine, although Sakura's mother didn't like the idea of someone asking to stay over at such a late hour. The two girls had quietly played in Sakura's room while her mother went to bed.

Finally, at eleven, Ino decided to talk about boys. "Hey, Sakura-chan," she began, "is there anyone you like yet?"

Sakura blushed heavily. "Un. I like...Uchiha Sasuke!"

Ino frowned heavily. Uchiha Sasuke was the complete antithesis of Uzumaki Naruto. A thought struck her, bringing a smile to her face. "Really? That's awesome that you've finally found someone you like! You know, I've heard that Sasuke-san likes girls with long hair."

"R-really?" Sakura stammered, her eyes wide. "T-then I guess I should grow my hair out..." She took a strand of it between her fingers and studied it.

"Yeah, you should," Ino agreed with a nod. "I bet your hair would look really pretty long," she added as she grabbed a brush and gently went through Sakura's hair.

"Thanks. I think your hair would be _beautiful _if it were long," Sakura returned the compliment.

"Well, you're quite the blossoming flower yourself," Ino praised as she put the brush away. "Your hair is beautiful as it is."

Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but was stopped when her mother knocked on the door and angrily ordered them to go to sleep.

* * *

Seven hours later, the two friends got ready for Academy. At six-thirty in the morning, they left Sakura's house, heading for the building.

Once there, they split to take their usual seats. Sakura stole the seat beside Sasuke, and Ino took one beside the smartest male in class, Nara Shikamaru. Together, they were the top students in class. Sasuke was the number one rookie, and Sakura came just beneath Ino. There was no way Ino would lose to someone like Sakura.

Just as Iruka-sensei began attendance, Naruto slipped into the classroom. The only empty seat was beside Sakura, and so he blushingly took it. She ignored him completely, instead attempting to intice Sasuke in conversation.

"Akimichi Choji," Iruka called.

"Hmphere." A fat male said, his mouth full of potato chips as he stuffed more inside.

"Haruno Sakura."

"Hai!" Sakura answered proudly, turning her attention to Iruka.

"Hyuga Hinata."

"H-here," a timid, violet-eyed and violet-haired girl answered.

"Inuzuka Kiba."

"Right here!" The male to her right answered loudly. He always wore his hood up and had red makeup of some sort on his cheeks.

"Nara Shikamaru."

To her left, Shikamaru sat, his head on the table, fast asleep. Ino smiled and shook him. "Huh?" he asked as he picked his head up. "Oh. Here." He lowered his head again.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

"Hn." Sasuke barely answered, as usual. Beside him, Sakura squealed happily.

"Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Right here, sensei!" Naruto called happily, waving.

"And Yamanaka Ino," Iruka finished.

Ino smiled. "Ohiyo, sensei!" she called.

Iruka nodded once and turned to face the chalkboard. "Wait," Ino whispered to Kiba, "did he call Shino?"

Kiba nodded. "Mmhm." He dropped his head onto the table and soon fell asleep.

For the remainder of the school day, Ino avidly paid attention, did all of her work perfectly, and was the first female able to manipulate her Chakra. She nodded her thanks to Naruto, who smiled back proudly.

Before she noticed the time fly by, school was finished. Everyone excitedly left the classroom, talking amongst themselves happily. Sakura followed Sasuke out, and so Ino decided to wait for Naruto and walk with him.

Naruto gave her a big smile as he caught up to her. "Ino-chan, Ino-chan! I got to sit next to Sakura-chan all day today!"

Ino smiled, happy for him. "That's awesome, Naruto-kun! So what are you gonna do now?"

He frowned. "Huh?"

"I mean, now that school's out, what are you gonna do?" She clarified with a chuckle.

"O-oh," her friend stuttered with a blush, "I-I thought you were talking about what I was doing with Sakura-chan..." His voice drifted off as the beautiful sun greeted them.

Ino sighed in content, smiling. "Why don't the three of us do something? You, me, and Sakura."

Naruto blushed again as they walked. "Y-you don't have to, Ino-chan. I-I mean...well...I uh..."

Ino giggled. "It's no problem, Naruto-kun! I like the idea of you and Sakura together." She resisted the powerful urge to growl and curl her lips like an animal. A very strong part of her hated the thought of Naruto with Sakura, but she wanted him to be happy. And if Naruto was happier with Sakura than Ino, so be it. She would make that sacrifice for her friend.

"O-okay, if you want to, Ino-chan..."

She couldn't help but smile at his tenderness. "Of course I want to! I want you to be happy, no matter what. I don't like seeing you cry."

There was a small silence between them, though large enough to coast them to her house. "Well, this is my house," she breathed. Her hand on the doorknob, she asked, "Do you wanna come inside?"

Naruto glowed, which made Ino smiled. She opened the door, and he followed her inside.

As usual, her father wasn't home. He was barely around, always volunteering to go on missions. When she had confronted him about this, he had ruffled her hair and replied, "I work so much because I love you and want you to have whatever you want, whenever you want it." He walked away, then, without giving Ino a chance to speak.

The reminder of always being along brought tears to her eyes, but she fought it down as she showed Naruto around.

At the door to her room, seconds before opening the door, Naruto turned to her and asked, "Are you okay, Ino-chan? You look like you're about to cry..."

Her eyes burning, Ino shook her head and looked away. "No, I'm fine...What would make you think that I - ?"

He cut her off. "Look me in the eyes and tell me you're fine," he said gently.

As soon as Ino's sight connected with Naruto's, she was in tears. Without a word, Naruto embraced her, whispering that everything would be alright.

This only made her breakdown worse. "N-naruto-kun..." she stammered, returning the embrace needfully. A part of her felt almost bubbly that they were so close, but it was overpowered by her sadness. Right then, all she wanted was a shoulder to cry on, an open ear. "Naruto-kun," Ino whispered, squeezing him tighter.

"Would you like to talk about it, Ino-chan?" He whispered.

Ino nodded vigorously, but didn't let go of him. After a moment of silence, she forced herself to let him go. Nodding once more at his question, she brought him back to her living room and sat on the couch. He sat beside her silently, waiting.

"M-my Daddy is never home," she began, fresh tears flowing. Ino pulled her legs onto the couch and held her knees close as she forced herself to continue, "I never get to see him. He's the only family I have left - everyone else in my clan died. I don't even have any real friends. Besides you." She looked to him and smiled weakly. He smiled back a little. "And so I'm always alone here, in this large, empty house. I never see him."

Beside her, Naruto gave a single weak chuckle. "At least you know what he looks like, that he's real and all. You _do _get to see him sometimes, and you should be thankful for that. Me, though...I've been alone ever since I could remember." Ino looked up at him with a little gasp of surprise. "I've never once seen my parents," he continued softly. "I don't even know what they look like. I know how you feel. Then lonliness...is like floating through a black abyss with no beginning or end. And the sadness...It's like a weight pushing down on you. It's freezing cold all the time, and before you know it, you're crying constantly, at the littlest things."

She heard the tone of his voice crack as she stared at him. A tear ran down his cheek. "Oh, Naruto-kun," Ino murmured as she hugged him once more. "We're not alone anymore. I have you, and you have me. I'll be your sister and your mother and your aunt and your grandmother. I'll even be your brother and your father and your uncle and your grandfather."

He hugged her back. "And I you. It feels so good to have a friend..."

"Y-yeah," Ino stammered, "I'm glad to have met you."

* * *

**Translations: **

**Sensei - Teacher or doctor**

**Hai - Yes/right/here. **

**Ohiyo - Good morning **

_A/n_

_Short, I know. But the original Chapter 3 is really shoddy, and so I decided to post what was good of it and revamp the rest into a new chapter. Hopefully things won't be as messy this way. At least I finally updated! Anyway, please review X3  
_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 **

A few days later, Ino arranged to have Naruto and Sakura meet with her. Neither Naruto or Sakura knew that they would be meeting the other - Ino had asked both to meet her outside of school individually, without telling the other. The thought made her smile deviously. It was one of the ways she was going to pay Naruto back for being so kind to her the other day.

The bell signaling the end of the day rang then, sharp and clear, freedom on a Thursday afternoon. Ino had left her classroom early and was waiting for the two 'lovebirds' outside. It brought bile into her mouth when she thought of Naruto with Sakura, but she swore to do anything to make Naruto happy. If Naruto was happy, then Ino was happy. That was that.

Naruto showed up first, not having anyone to hinder him on his way out. People avoided him, blatantly claimed their hatred of him. And because she was always with him, people started spreading rumors about Ino. That she was a slut who would sleep with anyone for a single ryo, a whore who didn't care who she hurt to get what she wanted. Of course, none of this was true. People were really adept at their cruel ways.

"Ino-chan!" Naruto called as he ran up to her and hugged her hello. "So you wanted to hang out today, right?" He seemed really excited, which was always the case with Naruto. Anything anyone did with him made him overly happy. But Ino, and Ino alone, understood why, so she didn't mind.

In perfect timing, Sakura showed up, just as Naruto finished his sentence. "Hi, Ino-chan," she called with a smile. They hugged hello. Then she noticed Naruto's presence. The corners of her mouth began to fall into a frown, but she managed to keep the smile up. "Oh, hello, Naruto-san. I didn't know you'd be here today." She glanced back to Ino with a questioning, and disapproving, gaze. Sakura was one of the people who did not approve of Naruto's existence, either, but she was better at disguising it. She knew that Naruto liked her, so she wasn't as bad as she wanted to be, as everyone else was.

Naruto was far pinker than Sakura's hair. "H-hi, Sakura-chan," he stammered. "I, uh, wasn't expecting you here, either..." His voice drifted off weakly.

Both victims turned to look at Ino expectantly. She smirked, then explained, "Well, I just thought the three of us could do something together for a change, instead of me being pulled in different directions by you two. We could go to my house and hang out, since my dad's never there. Sakura, you could sleep over if you wanted to." Ino tried her best to make it sound appealing to the cherry blossom, but she could tell she wasn't getting very far.

Naruto was the one to light up with excitement. "Yeah, that sounds like fun, Sakura-chan! C'mon, come with us to Ino-chan's house! We could...uh, I dunno...do stuff..." he fell back into his embarrassed mode.

Cornered, Sakura finally acquiesced to traveling to Ino's house. She was rather dour the entire trip the way, though Naruto didn't seem to notice. He was too amazed by the fact the he was going to the same place as she, that they finally had some sort of thing in common.

It was a drag. Sakura's patience only lasted and hour and a half before she decided to take her leave. Ino couldn't help but mentally thank her, considering she hated the thought of Naruto liking her. Her situation was definitely a fickle one.

But Naruto must never know. Their friendship would never be the same if he knew she liked him more than a friend. Aside from that, Naruto might think that she had only become friends with him because she was attracted to him. And this was simply not so. She had wanted to be his friend because of the great pity she felt for him, because no one else would be his friend. His isolation made him more unique in an odd way.

When Sakura left, Naruto and Ino were free to spend time together and talk of secret, only-between-them things. Naruto told her more about life before he had met her, how he had to depend on himself for what he needed. He told her how cruel people had been to him, and how they seemed to be getting a little nicer now that they were friends.

What he didn't realize was that Ino was the one being bullied. She voiced none of this, though; what would be the point of that? He was her friend, anyway, so it was no trouble for her to stand up for him. This brought hatred and violence from the girls, abrasive stoicism from the boys. But it was of no importance; for Naruto, Ino was infinitely stronger.

Ino minutely mentioned the bullying by the people around her, though she was sure to make it seem of no importance. If Naruto worried about her...Well, things just weren't right that way, were they? She was supposed to be the one worrying about and protecting he, not the other way around.

They conversed late into the night, over Ramen. Their conversation lasted so long that it was impossible for Ino to send Naruto away for the night. Almost midnight. What friend in their right mind would make their friend go home at such a late hour, alone? Thus, without much conscious thought, Ino invited Naruto to sleep over for the night, on the floor in her room. This space was opportune because, in the case that her father returned, Naruto would be able to make his escape out her window, unseen.

Naruto thanked her, grateful, and they retired for the night shortly after. For the first time in a very long time, Ino slept soundly the entire night.

* * *

Ino awoke the next morning to the scent of Ramen on the boil. She half-smiled, half-groaned at the prospect. Was there anything else that Naruto ever ate? Surely it was impossible for him to survive off of Ramen alone. He would have suffered a heart attack by now.

The Yamanaka had no choice but to smile as Naruto greeted her happily in her kitchen. She had been right; Naruto was standing above a boiling pot of water on the stove, stirring it occasionally. Undoubtedly, it was Ramen.

"So what are you going to do today, Naruto-kun?" Ino asked as she took a seat at her kitchen table. "Mm...Friday. Our only day off..." She mused.

Naruto shrugged as he set a bowl of Ramen, flavoring and chopsticks included, in front of her. "I don't know. I'll probably end up going back to my house pretty soon, dattebayo. Your dad might come back."

Ino nodded sadly, as if in apologies. In fact, she did apologize. "I'm sorry about my father. And I'm sorry about everyone else in the damned village. They all act like you're so horrible...But you're not. You know that, right?" She looked to him from her bowl.

"Mmhm," Naruto barely responded as he slurped up some of the noodles. He failed to look at her.

Something about that action told Ino that he thought she was wrong.

She let it drop, and they ate in silence.

When Naruto finished and washed his bowl, he turned to Ino and murmured, "You know, I really like Sakura-chan. I was, uh, thinking about asking her on a date, or something..."

It was a good thing Ino was so adept at acting. "Then ask her. The worst she can do is say no." She took more Ramen into her mouth, focused on her bowl. Inside, her heart was racing with rage and her palms were sweating. It felt as though the real Ino would burst out at any moment and scream against Naruto's motions.

She kept it inside, though. Naruto was her best friend; if he wanted to date her worst enemy, then let him.

She couldn't help but feel a strong need to protect him, though. Suddenly, telling Naruto how she felt meant more than anything. But she knew, more than she knew anything else, that she must never reveal her true feelings to him. It would ruin everything she had worked so hard to build. She couldn't let that happen.

Naruto chewed on his bottom lip at her words. "But...She's not like you, Ino-chan." He looked up to her from his bowl. "And you're not like everyone else. Everyone else hates me. But you are my friend. And Sakura-chan...I don't think she likes me much, either."

"Well, then, why do you like her so much? If you think she's like everyone else, you should try and not like her. You know?"

Naruto, still chewing on his lip, nodded. "But I can't help it. You like Sasuke-kun, right?" Ino held back the urge to scowl and nodded. "Well, everyone else likes him too. And you can't help but like him, right? No matter what you do?"

She nodded. It was true, though the Sasuke part wasn't. She liked Naruto, and couldn't help it. "Yes, I suppose I can understand your reasoning." The sudden urge to cry nearly overwhelmed her. She choked it down by suggesting, "Alright, then, if you ask Sakura out, I'll ask Sasuke-kun out. Then we can go on double-dates and it won't be so awkward, right?"

The Uzumaki smiled. "Ino-chan, you're the best!" He walked around the table and forced a hug with her. She couldn't help but hug back. He smelled so good...And if he was happy with Sakura as a girlfriend, then she would be happy with Sasuke as a boyfriend.

They exchanged goodbyes, and Naruto left. Anger bubbled together with happiness, and she didn't know how to act. Silent tears fell down her cheek as she cleaned up the place before her father returned.

* * *

  
Ino slept through the rest of Friday, then woke up Saturday and got ready for school like a drone. Anger was the emotion controlling her, making the rest of her senses numb. Although she was conscious throughout the day, she remembered nothing of what Iruka-sensei taught.

She did remember, though, what Iruka had announced, "Today is the last day we'll see each other as classmates. We'll take the genin tests, and tomorrow I will announce your new teams!"

Everyone in the class took the test, which consisted of making Shadow Clones, using jutsu to turn into someone else, and other things. Ino passed as the top female of her class, with Sakura just below. Sasuke passed as the top male.

Naruto failed.

This made more anger surge through Ino as she watched her best friend fail, and everyone laugh. She punched the people around her and hissed at them to stop, though her efforts were in vain. Of course, everyone laughed at him, because everyone hated him. Even Sakura snickered at his failing attempts to make himself into the Third Hokage.

When class was over, Naruto ran outside to the swing just outside the Academy's gates and sat on it sideways, facing the tree it hung off of. Everyone stood around him, keeping a safe ten feet away, and laughed at how he was the only student to fail the test.

The anger began to boil over then. Ignoring the people, Ino ran over to Naruto, sheilding him from them with her back.

He was crying.

"Oh, Naruto-kun..." Ino whispered, gently rubbing his back. "Naruto, don't cry...You can always try again..."

He sniffled loudly, then whispered, "They're all laughing at me again...Why won't this stop? Why do they all hate me, Ino-chan?"

Her father's words came back to her, then, from a time not so long ago, "Within him is a demon called the Kyuubi. That monster killed your mother. I don't want you ever even thinking about talking to him."

The words echoing throughout her mind made her throat stick. Tears welled in her eyes, but she fought them back and murmured, "Don't mind them. They're jealous of you. C'mon, why don't we go back to my house?"

Naruto shook his head quickly. "Sorry, Ino-chan, but I want to be alone."

This made Ino's throat even more constricted, the tears even more acidic behind her eyes. She nodded once, weakly, and walked away. When she was out of Naruto's sight, she ran as fast as she could to her house.

* * *

**Translations:**

Sensei - Teacher

Kyuubi - 'Nine Tails' One of the many names for the demon within Naruto.

_A/n_

_I know this is short, but I wanted to get something up, and I couldn't think of a way to make this longer without it seeming like two chapters in one -_-' So hopefully I'll have chapter five up faster than this one. Review, please! X3  
_


End file.
